14h, 8 year old, bay pony gelding. The FLO picked this horse up from an Indian Reservation and was told that he was wild. The FLO owner decided to hold him back for now, so he halter broke him. This guy is a little resistant to having the halter put on but once it is on, he walked calmly and obediently behind him.

Since realizing that Connor is actually broke, not a wild unhandled pony, Chelsea and I have begun to advertise him locally. Today, I received a call from a woman named Samantha who is looking for a pony for her 9 year old daughter. We set a time and they both came out to meet Connor this evening.

I was very happy and impressed with Connor's quiet and sensible demeanor. I picked him up from his barn and quickly walked/trotted down the road to my house where I quickly tied him up to the trailer and brushed him down. With only an hour before it got dark, I wanted to make sure we had as much time with Connor as possible.

Once brushed, while answering Samantha's questions about his personality and training, I quickly saddled him up and we headed to the round pen. From there I free lunged him for about 10 minutes, to which he responded perfectly. Samantha was amazed at how well he 'reversed' directions off of my subtle body language and voice commands to change direction.

After a couple minutes, I let him stop and grabbed his bosal. I bridled him up and then mounted into the saddle. He was anxious and didn't stand as quietly as I'd hoped, but I was able to get him to stand quietly and allow me to mount after a minute or two.

Once in the saddle, we walked and trotted, doing small circles and serpentines. A couple halts and reverses, leg yields and reining exercises later, I asked Samantha if her daughter would like to ride Connor.

I dismounted and her daugter came in and got on Connor. She has a very quiet demeanor about her, which gave Connor confidence. She may be a bit too timid for him, but I was happy to see how well he responded to her requests to walk, halt and turn.

After about 15 minutes of riding, we decided to end the session since it was getting dark. However, Samantha's daughter rode Connor down the road to his barn, where we unsaddled him and put him away to eat his dinner.

I am not sure if Samantha will decide if Connor is the right pony for her daughter, but I was impressed all over again with Connor's sensible mind and kind heart. He was never mean spirited - he always tried to do as we asked. He did try to nibble on the grass on the way to his barn, but what horse doesn't?

All in all, Connor proved tonight that he is one awesome pony and will make any child very happy! Go Connor!

That sounds good! Most ponies are going to try to take advantage of a kid at least a little bit - hey, that's how WE all learned to get over being timid and ride. We got sick of sitting there while the pony grazed! I used to ride a Welsh cross for my lessons who would bolt to the hay storage area at the end of the arena, slide stop and start eating.